There’s something sublime about snorkeling. Contacts in, face mask seated tight, snorkel in my mouth- check. Wade out to thigh-deep water and slip on the fins. Bend at the waist, push off and lift my feet. Instantly weightless, immediately transported to a whole new realm: surrounded, embraced, and welcomed. The dominant sound is of my own breathing, fast and excited at first until my brain begins to trust the snorkel then slow, rhythmic, calm. Even in the shallows, fish of all colors dart around me. I look beneath me to find what the sea is offering today. Star fish, urchins, sea fans, brain coral, sand dollars. Part of the delight is discovery. I glance up and notice a needle nose fish, silver and white, swimming close by just at the surface. He seems as interested in me as I am in him.
Today a turtle shares my joy. I envy his ability to maneuver, to gain the bottom and explore. My heart quickens when I see him begin to rise to breathe. He surfaces close by, indifferent to my watchful presence. Nonchalant compared to the thrill I feel.
I recognize him as a Green Turtle, though he is mottled, vivid brown. At home where I am a visitor. He dives again to forage among the waving grasses and I, reticently, move off to see what else I will be prized with.
I understand very little in this world, and all is a gift, a blessing. My body relaxed, supported by an unseen force that allows me to float, I listen to my own breaths and I pray without words, my heart to God’s.
